The top three airports, as rated by The Wall Street Journal— Denver, Orlando and Phoenix — have one major factor in common: strong competition among airlines. Denver is one of the few airports with three major airlines connecting customers: United, Southwest and Frontier.
In Phoenix, American and Southwest compete with connecting hubs. In Orlando, the largest airline, Delta, controls only 28% of passenger traffic., The Journal reports.
In the total rankings of all 15 measures, Denver edged Orlando and Phoenix for the top spot with high scores in reliability value and convenience categories. Denver was the only airport to place in the top four in each of those three broad categories.
All three airlines big in Denver compete head-to-head on some routes, and so far, it’s working.
Denver, Phoenix and Orlando are all strong business and leisure destinations that benefit from ample airline service and low fares. All three airports spend heavily on improvements. (Airports in the U.S. can charge each departing passenger $4.50 built into the ticket price. That helps pay for major construction projects.)
